Our Bones are Brittle
by The Crimson Kiss
Summary: Jiraiya gives his step-sons Itachi and Naruto a birthday present - money for two slaves. But they don't know what they're signing up for. Mainly NaruSasu, ItaDei and some very light NaruNeji. DISCLAIMED: the story's not finished, so proceed with caution. TW for past abuse/rape/non-con. 15K of pure angst.


**DISCLAIMER: This story is not done, and I will not be finishing it. It's been stuck in my drafts for three years now. I don't log into this site anymore, so I figured I would just post it, if anyone is interested. If someone wants to adopt it, you can take it – just message me and let me know.**

 **Trigger warnings for pretty much everything – past rape, past torture, some severe hurt-comfort, master-slave. Proceed with caution.**

 **Ita/Dei, Naru/Sasu.**

 **Ps, to the flamers... I roast marshmellows over your bullshit. Please go away.**

They say the more owners a car has had the less it is worth.

Some of the worth is determined by the shape the car is in, as well as make and the year it was created, but the most important factor is the number of people it's gone through.

It's the same for slaves.

Most slaves are children when they are first sold, and they steadily go down in value from there. Some exceptions to this general rule are labour slaves, usually males between the ages of twenty and thirty, and pretty young girls.

Labour slaves, if treated well, would get stronger instead of weaker, therefor providing the owner with a greater profit. Most masters, if they were smart about it, would feed their work slaves well and reap the benefit of the labour they provided. During their prime, manual labourers are considered one of the most valuable slaves to own, right next to entertainers and exotic art specialists.

However, one type of slave whose value can only go down from the time it is sold and onward is the pleasure slave.

Sex slaves were considered worth very little from the moment they lost their virginity and after. A pretty, talented sex slave might sell for about the same as a sick or weak labourer, or a slave with no talents who is not attractive. However, if a sex slave becomes scarred or diseased they are considered worse than worthless.

Most sex slaves are considered next to worthless anyway, since there are so many of them. Most people like their bed slaves skinny to an unhealthy state, so sex slaves are not capable of working to be useful. Likewise, most of them get so badly abused that their physical appearance is less than appealing, which lessens their value even more.

However, usually even the lowest quality of bed slave will sell eventually, even if only to someone looking just for a living beating post or a convenient hole to fuck. But there are some occasions when a sex slave absolutely will not sell, and in that case they are sent to the Mines.

The Mines are usually in Africa or Europe, and slaves that no one will buy are sent there to be worked to the bone til they die. Once dead (or, at least, they are usually dead. In some cases slaves who were still alive have been mistaken for dead), they are burned, and their ashes used for fertilizer.

Being a sex toy is one of the worst fates that can befall a slave, because eventually, almost all sex slaves end up in the Mines.

But there are some slaves, even lower in the slave hierarchy than sex slaves, that no Master would touch even if the slavers paid them.

Some slaves have belonged to such evil Masters and endured such cruelty that they break, in both mind and body. When a truly sadistic Master's punishments get out of hand a slave's physic sometimes shatters, leaving a totally broken creature behind. Some go mad, some try to commit suicide, and others simply become so terrified and unreasonably frightened that they are of no use to anyone. Essentially, they have had all the usefulness beaten out of them.

It is purely ceremony to keep these creatures at the markets. No one will touch them, but law states that they cannot be euthanized. Instead they are forced outside with no food and no clothing, sometimes in the dead of winter or the heat of summer, til they collapse and the traders can justify knocking them off.

But I'm sure this overly long explanation is dragging on and boring you, so I'll skip to the interesting part.

"Naruto, get down here! We're gonna be late if you don't hurry up!"

"I don't wanna go!" Naruto whined back.

"I don't care!" his friend and older brother figure Itachi shouted. "If you're not down here in one minute I'm coming up there and Tsukuyomi-ing your ass!"

Naruto gulped. The blonde had pissed Itachi off enough to warrant a round in Tsukuyomi once before; it was not an experience he was willing to repeat, even if the version he'd been through was much lighter than what Itachi used on his enemies. "Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a knot! I'm coming."

Reluctantly the Uzumaki pulled himself off his bed, casting a fond glance at the bright-orange blanket on top of it. He snatched his shoes out of his closet and bounded down the stairs, nervously checking his watch to make sure it had been less than a minute. Thankfully it had been, so his ass was safe from Tsukuyomi.

'Took you long enough," Itachi growled when Naruto skidded to a halt at the front door, shoes untied and coat askew.

"I told you, I don't want to go," Naruto said sullenly. "I don't want a slave."

"I don't either really," Itachi said, smoothing his already smooth hair back into a ponytail and buttoning his coat, casting a pointed and disdainful glance at Naruto's still-askew attire.

"Shut up," Naruto muttered self-consciously in response to the look as he quickly yanked his coat into its proper place and zipped it up. "If you don't want a slave either then I don't see why we can't just refuse."

"We've been over this," Itachi said tiredly as he opened the door and the two men stepped out into the cold January weather. "Uncle Jiraiya wants to treat us. Although how he found out that it was my twenty-first birthday this month and your eighteenth I do not know."

"But why _slaves?_ " Naruto whined. "It's so... gross!"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow in amusement at the blonde's choice of wording. "Gross? Really?"

"Well – inhumane!" Naruto corrected. "I don't like it. I mean I'm fine with the whole using slaves for work thing, but the way some people treat them, like animals, it's just..."

"Wrong? Sick? Disgusting? Yes, Naruto, I know." Itachi didn't look it, but Naruto could tell that even though he hid it better than his blonde friend the Uchiha was just as upset at the prospect as he was. "If we didn't rely on Jiraiya's funding to pay for schooling then I would refuse him without hesitation. However, at present, we need his financial support. And anyway... he means well. Getting us a pair of bed slaves is his idea of being nice, we might as well enjoy it. They're trained to pleasure, if we don't buy them and put them to use then someone else will, and most likely they would not be gentle about it."

The duo had entered the car by now, a sturdy-looking gold Honda.

"Why do you always get to drive?" the blonde groused. Itachi smirked.

"Because if I get us into an accident, I won't get my license suspended. Plus... I don't trust you with my car."

"Phht, whatever," Naruto humphed. "How long a drive is it to the slave market?"

"Depends which market," Itachi said, turning the vehicle on and pulling out of the driveway. "There's the one in town, but I hear their selection is somewhat lacking. Jiraiya said he'd pay for the best two slaves for sale; what do you say we go to one of the bigger markets out of town?"

"Sure," Naruto muttered. "Geez, 'Tachi, if I didn't know better I'd think you were enjoying this."

The Uchiha made no reply to that, and Naruto fell silent. The rest of the ride was spent in relative peace, the only disturbance of which was a sarcastic comment from Naruto about Itachi's driving, to which Itachi responded by intentionally swerved almost into the ditch, nearly giving Naruto a heart attack. Needless to say the Uzumaki did not comment on Itachi's road skills again for the rest of the trip.

Three hours later, the two young men pulled up in front of what looked like an abandoned shack.

"What is this place?" Naruto asked curiously. "'Tachi, I thought you said we were going to a _big_ market."

"We are," the Uchiha replied. "This is an under-ground slave-ring. Most markets operate in broad daylight, because as inhumane as it is slavery _is_ technically legal... but some markets dislike playing by the government's rules, so they form underground rings. We're going to be buying two slaves today, and if we're going to be buying people from anywhere... it should be here. Underground rings are much more brutal to their merchandise than the legal slavers are, so if we're helping slaves, it should be these ones."

Naruto started at the older male for a moment, surprised by the speech. Then he inquired, almost hesitantly, "Is this place so much worse than the other markets? Because I've been to normal slave auctions, and they're awful enough. How could something be _worse?"_

"Oh, trust me, they are," Itachi said darkly. "Let's go, I want to get in and out of here as quickly as possible."

"Hai, hai," the blonde said.

The two men left the car and approached the run-down building, casting cautious glances at the broken windows and the half-rotten roof.

"You're _sure_ this isn't just a broken old house?" Naruto asked again.

Itachi's reply of 'yes, Naruto, I'm sure' was cut off as the front door of the building swung open.

Two pale eyes stared out nervously, but the rest of the figure was hidden.

"Wh-who goes there?" a shy female voice spoke.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi," Itachi replied, "and this is Uzumaki Naruto. We are interested in purchasing some of your... merchandise."

"O-of course, Uchiha-sama, Uzumaki-sama," the girl replied. "P-please, come inside. We just got in a new shipment Europe yesterday, there should be something to suit your tastes."

The girl opened the door, keeping her pale lilac eyes on the ground respectfully, and Itachi led the way inside.

"Man, what a dump," Naruto stated as the girl shut the door behind them.

"Tch, baka," Itachi muttered. "This isn't the real market, this is just the entrance. If I am correct, the actual trading base is underground, yes?"

"H-hai, Uchiha-sama," the girl replied. "M-my name is Hinata, I will be your guide while you are here. What type of slave were you two gentlemen interested in purchasing?"

"Gosh, I dunno," Naruto replied. "I was just gonna look around and pick the first one that interested me..."

"I'd like a blonde male, if you have any," Itachi said, much more certain in what he liked. "Not too tall, any eye colour, under twenty years, and preferably already trained."

"Hai," Hinata replied. "Are we talking bed slaves, or..."

"Yes," Itachi said, just at the same time as Naruto growled, "Unfortunately."

"H-hai," Hinata replied with an almost amused look between the two men. "But, just a warning, a slave of that description will be one of the most expensive."

"I understand," Itachi replied. "Money is not an option. As for my friend here..." Itachi cast an exasperated glance at Naruto, as if to say _do you seriously have so little of an idea of what your type is?_ "He has previously shown a taste for short, dark-haired males, the paler the better. No specific age, but I think it would be good to keep it around ours. Preferably trained as a bed slave but I don't think Naruto will mind if there is a good one that isn't trained yet."

"U-understood," the pale-eyed slave replied. "Th-that will put you both in the male fourteen to twenty-one category, which is this way. P-please follow me."

Itachi and Naruto trailed after the girl as she led them through the little house to what used to be the kitchen. There were five different doors, two on each wall and one beside the entrance, and Hinata led them to the closest.

"I should warn you, sirs, some of the slaves like to get a little rowdy. Best to stay away from the ones behind bars. If they are in cages it means they are already broken, so you may approach them."

Without further delay Hinata brought out a bunch of keys and unlocked the door, before swinging it open with an ominous creaking sound.

Naruto wrinkled his nose as he followed Itachi and the girl inside. The set of stairs beyond the door was almost like a tunnel; narrow and dark, with bits of what looked like cobwebs dangling above their heads.

It was a huge flight of stairs; Itachi estimated that they descended into the ground for almost three minutes before they reached the main level.

Once they reached level ground Hinata flipped a light switch, and the entire room was lit up. What they saw made Itachi's hands clench into fists and Naruto's stomach to curl.

The cavern – for that was really what it was – was massive, about the size of a football field, and suddenly Itachi understood the need for such a long staircase.

There were cells along both sides, with thick iron bars holding the occupants inside, but that made up the smallest group of slaves. No, what made Naruto feel sick were the _cages._

Rows and rows of cages were lined up, stacked one on top of the other, and each with a human being inside. The cages were so small that most of the occupants couldn't move at all, and on top of that each slave wore a thick metal collar with a chain attached to the bottom of their cage, forcing them into perpetual bows.

The smell was rancid, and the entire room was freezing, making many of the slaves shiver. The Uchiha noted absently that all the slaves were naked, but that most of them were so dirty you could barely tell.

"H-here we are, sirs, this is where you'll find our best male pleasure slaves," Hinata said. Naruto wasn't sure, but he thought he detected a hint of disgust in her tone, as if she would rather be anywhere else but where she was. Sure, it looked as if she had a lot of freedom for a slave, but it must be even worse for a slave to assist in the selling of her own kind.

Suddenly Naruto had a lot more sympathy for the young girl, and a lot more anger towards the people who ran the place.

"Oi, Hinata? That you?" a rough male voice sounded.

Naruto, already tense, jumped like someone had stabbed him with a red-hot iron.

"H-hai, Kabuto-sama," Hinata replied. "We have t-two potential buyers in today."

A man stepped out from behind one of the nearest rows of cages and sauntered over, glasses gleaming eerily. "Oh? Well then by all means, carry on."

"Hai, Kabuto-sama." Hinata offered a little bow to the man and gestured for Itachi and Sasuke to proceed her down the center isle.

"Our slaves are organized by appearance and age," she said as they walked. "This here is our seventeen to twenty year old blonde male isle, hopefully you can find something you like, Uchiha-sama. If you need assistance please call me."

Itachi nodded and wandered a few steps off to peer into one of the cages, looking mildly disgusted with the place.

"Uzumaki-sama, if you'll follow me I'll show you the dark-haired teen male section." Naruto nodded numbly and followed, trying to ignore the shudders running up and down his back.

"Here we are," Hinata said. "This section extends all the way to the end of the room, it's one of our largest sections, so if you need help finding anything please let me know."

"Yeah, sure," Naruto said dully. Noting that Hinata wasn't leaving, he added, "Why don't you go see if Itachi is finding his slave alright? I just want to look around for a bit, and anyway he's pickier than I am."

Hinata smiled softly, not used to being _asked_ to do things instead of _ordered. "_ Of course, Uzumaki-sama." she gave him the same little bow she'd given Kabuto and hurried off.

Left alone in the huge isle, with cages stretching for almost as far as he could see in every direction, Naruto let out the sigh building in his chest. Who cared about money for schooling anyway? Couldn't he just refuse to do this?

A soft whimper from one of the cages caught his attention, and he squatted down to get a better look.

In this particular cage knelt a beautiful boy with long, chestnut-coloured hair that fell to the floor of his cage and would probably go to his waist if he wasn't chained down. His skin was a delicate pale shade, and Naruto caught a glimpse of silver, pupil-less eyes.

Wait, pupil-less eyes? A relative of Hinata's, perhaps?

Naruto sighed, renewed disgust at the entire enterprise sweeping through him. He got to his feet and wandered down the isle, occasionally stopping to look at one of the slaves. None of them spoke or tried to gain his attention; to the contrary, most of them seemed terrified that he would pick them. It wasn't surprising really – after all, this _was_ an illegal market. The chances of being bought by a serial killer or a mass murderer with sadistic tendencies was much higher here than at the normal markets. For many of these slaves the cages they were in would be better than their new homes would be were they to be purchased.

They were all pretty, some of them caught Naruto's interest, and a few of them he wouldn't have minded fucking, but – there wasn't one that was just perfectly right. If all else failed, Naruto decided, he would just go back for the pale eyed one.

Back with Itachi, a similarly indecisive situation was developing. However the blonde section was considerably smaller than the brunette section, so Itachi found what he was looking for sooner than Naruto.

"What can you tell me about this one?" He asked Hinata as he came to a stop before the third-last stack of cages. He gestured to the cage in the middle of the stack, bending down as he did so.

"This is one of our newest purchases," Hinata said, coming up behind Itachi. "It goes by the name Deidara, but the owner will probably change that when he is bought. Age seventeen, fully trained, eye colour is blue, has a nine and a half rating in pleasuring, and, on top of that, this one's a Special."

Itachi frowned, not recognizing the term. "A Special?"

"Hai," Hinata said. "Specials are engineered in labs to have non-human traits. Most of the time it doesn't work because scientists are still figuring out genetic modification, but Deidara here is one of the cases in which it _did_ work."

"I see," Itachi mused. "What's his?"

"Deidara, show the guest your hands," Hinata ordered gently.

The slave didn't move for a moment, before he shuffled and managed to bring his hands up to the front of the tiny cage for Itachi's inspection.

"Mouths?" Itachi asked, somewhere between intrigued and weirder out.

"Hai," Hinata replied. "That's why his pleasure rating is so high, if you know what I mean."

Itachi _did_ know what she meant, but he wasn't convinced yet.

"Look at me, kid," he ordered.

The slave hesitated, but complied quickly enough, bending his neck uncomfortably in order to see Itachi's face.

"How many owners have you been though?"

At the question the slave cringed and lowered his head again, certain that the answer would destroy any hopes he had of getting out of that hellhole. Itachi could have just asked Hinata, but record of previous owners were usually falsified in order to sell the slave for more money.

"S-six, sir," the blonde whispered.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "How much?" he asked Hinata.

"A-ano, usually for a slave like him, $15,000, but this one has some pretty severe scarring on his back, plus a large amount of previous owners, so we're selling him for $12,000."

"Deal," Itachi agreed. He probably could have haggled a lower price, but it was Jiraiya's money anyway. Plus, there was just something about the blonde that made Itachi want to get him out as soon as possible.

From inside the cage, Deidara listened to Hinata and the guest speak. He was conflicted; part of him wanted to be bought, if only to get out of the cage... but the other part knew that if this man was buying slaves at an illegal market then the purpose he intended Deidara for would surely be worse. He was probably better off being starved in a cage than with him. Still, soon he was brought back to reality when Hinata selected a key and unlocked the door to his cage.

"Come on, I need to get you cleaned up," she said. "You've just been purchased."

Naruto sighed as he reached the end of the isle. None of the slaves had caught his interest, but since this was the end of that particular section, he'd either have to go back to one of the nicer ones here or take a look around... he decided to take a look around.

The Uzumaki cast a last, pitying glance at the kneeling, chained slaves before turning the corner and heading off into a different section.

He wandered for a few minutes, passing through the Latino, Caucasian, African-American, Asian and Italian-Spanish sections as he went. It made him sick, to see so many slaves living in such conditions. There must have been at least a thousand slaves in the room in total, stacked one on top of the other like boxes.

 _And this is only what's beyond_ _ **one**_ _of those doors upstairs,_ the blonde thought.

Soon Naruto got tired of seeing bruised face after bruised face and made his way towards the edge of the room, where the cells were. He didn't pay attention to those either, instead choosing to walk down the row til he came to the very end of the room.

With interest, Naruto noticed that instead of the room being rectangle-shaped, with cells along each side and cages in the middle, there was an extra alcove all the way in the back, sequestered from the rest of the room.

 _I wonder what's in here?_ Naruto thought curiously. He stepped towards the darker area only to stop as a faint sound caught his attention.

Someone was crying. Not just crying either; sobbing their heart out, and it seemed to be coming from the sequestered area.

"Well, that settles that," Naruto muttered. He knew there must be slaves there, though why they were in such a closed-off space and away from potential buyers he did not know. But he _did_ know, somehow, that this was where he'd be getting his slave from.

The crying got louder as he approached, and he felt along the wall till he located another light switch. He flicked it on and put a hand over his mouth to muffle the gasp of horror.

There were slaves lying on the floor, all lined up like dominoes. Each one had something obviously wrong with it; one child of no more than eight was missing a foot, and two twin girls had seemingly had their eyes cut out, with perfectly matching scars running down their identical faces. None of the slaves were chained or tied, and similarly, none of them were moving. At first Naruto thought that they must all be asleep, and then for a heart-stopping moment he thought they might be dead, but then he caught sight of the boy with the missing foot's wide open eyes. Still, by the state these slaves were in, so skinny that each bone and rib stuck out from skin like a knife from paper, they might as well have been living skeletons.

"You don't want one of these, boy," a sudden voice said from behind Naruto, making him jump. He turned to see the man from before, Kabuto, leering at him. "These ones are Broken. Most of them have some kind of STD, as well, which makes 'em unsellable. It's pure ceremony to keep them in the first place, most of 'em end up in the mines. They've had all their usefulness beaten outta them."

Naruto looked away, nausea brewing in his stomach.

"If your allowance is limited, kid, you could always take a look in the discounted section," Kabuto offered. "None of these are worth wasting money on. Even if you didn't get them dirt cheap, most of 'em would cost more than they're worth to fix. Although I suppose if you've got a blood fetish or something like a Broken might be a good idea. Still, they're all essentially useless."

The Uzumaki ignored the silver-haired man in favour of walking further into the Broken section. "I think I'm going to look here anyway," he told Kabuto through gritted teeth. A few of the slaves on the ground registered his angry tone and flinched away, whimpering.

"Suit yourself," Kabuto replied. "The ones with red tape on them are the sexually diseased ones, but if you want you can have some fun with the clean ones. As long as the guests buy something else we let them have their way with the Broken, gives us more business in the end. They don't do much but most of 'em will lie still while you fuck 'em. There's a room at the end with some equipment if you're interested."

Naruto's world went red for a moment, but when he turned around to deck the mother-fucker he was already gone, disappeared beyond one of the other rows of slaves.

"God damn it," the Uzumaki whispered, disgust curling in his stomach like acid. "I can't believe this place."

Naruto walked through the two rows of slaves, some kneeling, some lying down, and some just rocking back and forth starting blankly at the walls. Every slave in the building was skinny – most of them had been starved all their lives, so they were all undernourished, but the slaves in the Broken section were even worse. If Naruto didn't know better he would have said that he was walking amongst a bunch of corpses. They obviously hadn't been fed in days, and Naruto wondered if the managers of the place starved them on purpose so they wouldn't have to pay to ship them off to the mines.

All of the slaves had some kind of reaction when Naruto got too close to them; some of them cried out and flinched away, a few threw themselves down in front of him and starting trying to lick his feet, and the ones capable of coherent speech usually started begging him not to hurt them, but most of them simply whimpered pathetically and tried to scoot away.

As bad as Naruto felt for them, it was not them he had come to see.

The Uzumaki kept following the crying. The sound drove him on, more than the whimpers and moans and pained keening noises the other slaves made. Something about that crying made him need to see who was making the sound, because it was driving daggers through Naruto's heart.

Soon he came to the very end of the Broken section, to a small door in the side of the massive room. Realizing that this must be the room with 'equipment' that Kabuto had mentioned, Naruto was apprehensive as to what he'd find on the other side. The blonde went to push the door open but before he got to it it opened from the inside and three men tromped out.

One of the men was doing his pants back up, and the other two were leering in a satisfied kind of way.

The tallest of the group, an overweight man with dull orange hair, paused when he passed Naruto. "Come to have your fun with the fuck toy?" he said, eyeing the blonde. "Too bad you're a bit late, else we woulda saved you some..." he smirked in a not-nice kind of way and followed after his friends before Naruto could respond. "You should use the double vibrator on him; we didn't get the chance."

The Uzumaki stared blankly at the man as he disappeared around a bend in the cages, coarse laughter echoing back. Suddenly he felt like throwing up, but he forced himself to turn around and enter the room. He had to see what was beyond it.

What he saw on the other side of the metal door was one of the most sickening sights he'd ever seen in his life, and it took him a good ten seconds of gaping like a stuck fish to make sense of what his eyes were telling him. When they did he wished they hadn't.

In the middle of the room, a tiny, black-haired teen had obviously just finished being gang-raped.

The young, skinny boy had been locked into a steel contraption of some sort, so that his mouth and ass were both at waist height, and there was a two-foot-long spreading bar strapped between his legs, forcing them painfully apart. The metal contraption forced him to kneel, and his arms were bent behind his back in a position that must have been painful. The teen was blindfolded and gagged, but instead of a ball gag the instrument in his mouth was a wide circle of metal that forced the boy's jaws apart and left his throat horribly vulnerable. The gadget was strapped to his head, and the leather part bit into the skin of his face, obviously done up too tight. The boy seemed to be in a lot of pain; his fingers were clenching in and out of fists, and every few seconds he would let out a pitiful wail that was half whimper and half scream. His bent arms were tightly fastened together with what looked like more leather, leaving the teen in a very awkward and painful position.

Naruto made a strangled sound, somewhere between disbelief and horror, and the slave's head jerked up, as much as it could considering that there was a thick leather collar fastened around his neck. From the collar there were five different chains that all attached to different points in the device his body was fastened in to, making it nearly impossible to move his head and neck.

At the sound Naruto made the slave tensed up, and the cloth tied around his eyes dampened as the boy started crying silently, trembling.

Words failed the blonde, and quickly he shut the door behind him and approached the teen, who sobbed harder and pulled futilely at the restraints as he neared in a hopeless attempt to get away.

As he got closer Naruto noticed a faint buzzing sound, and for a long moment he had no idea what was causing it – then a horrible suspicion entered his mind, and he walked around the helpless slave to get a look at his rear end.

Naruto's stomach jolted when his suspicion was confirmed; he got a look at the boy's ass and was horrified to see not one, not two, but _three_ full-sized dildos stuffed to the hilt into the boy's hole, vibrating away. No wonder the boy was in pain, his entrance was being ripped apart!

Reacting on instinct, Naruto reached forward and grasped one of the vibrators, before gently pulling it out. The boy shuddered violently and let out a ragged cry. The Uzumaki removed the other two and flung them across the room, his anger resurfacing now that the shock had worn off.

Who the hell did these people think they were, treating their slaves like this? A low snarl of rage slipped past his lips, not noticing how the sound caused the boy's trembling to worsen and his panting breaths to become full-blown hyperventilation.

Tamping down his anger, Naruto knelt down briefly to undo the straps on the spreading bar, wincing in sympathy at the sight of the deep red marks beneath them.

Naruto then moved around the boy again and reached forward to take the blindfold off, once again feeling sick when the teen's entire body jerked away when his hand brushed his cheek.

The slave's eyes were probably quite beautiful, under normal circumstances, but at the moment they were swollen and puffy, and swimming with tears. They were a deep coal-black, and the dread and absolute terror in them made Naruto take a little step back.

(Sasuke's POV – first person)

Everything hurt. The last three Masters had finished with me mere seconds ago, and I reckoned that I only had about five minutes before someone else would arrive to fuck me.

Before they'd left the last Masters had stuffed me full of toys, and I whimpered again as the burning pain in my ass increased when the vibrators automatically went up a setting. My throat was sore and aching from being pounded into, and the skin of my rear and back had been whipped nearly raw... if I could have I would have sobbed openly, but the gag in my mouth prevented me from doing anything more than silently crying. My mouth hurt, and there was fresh and dried semen smeared all over my face... my ass to, I knew, but it was in too much pain to feel it.

I went limp in the metal contraption I was trapped inside and allowed my head to hang. The vibrators in my ass went up another level, and I let out a quiet shriek at the increased agony. If I hadn't had a gag in my mouth I would've been begging the empty room for mercy by this point... I just hoped that whoever came next would be kind enough to remove the dildos before fucking me.

Then someone nearby made a noise, and my head jerked up in a panic – how long had someone been there? I hadn't heard a new Master come in...

Footsteps approached me, and my fear increased as the door shut. Judging by the sound of the footsteps it was just one Master this time, which could be a good thing... then again, if he didn't remove the toys inside me before using me it wouldn't matter if there was one of him or four.

I whimpered pathetically when he didn't even pause at my mouth, all hopes that maybe this Master would be satisfied with a blowjob dissapearing.

He stopped behind me, and bent over and spread as I was my ass was on full display. I could barely move; there was no way to escape him, and no way to beg for mercy around the gag. I sobbed when I felt him grasp the base of one of the toys, fully expecting him to thrust it even further into my torn hole.

However, the Master surprised me by pulling the phallus out of my ass with a smooth, harsh motion. I bit back a scream as the rough sides scraped my sensitive flesh.

Now that he had removed one of the dildos he would fuck me, right? Well, I was thankful that he had at least taken one out... so once again I was shocked when I felt first one, then the other dildos both slide out of my entrance, leaving my fuck-hole empty for the first time in what felt like forever.

I stilled in total shock, but didn't dare attempt any form of questions.

So, he didn't like to stuff his slaves before using them... that was a nice change. My ass was usually so stretched and loose that the Masters had to put toys in it before fucking it to get any pleasure out of the experience... so this was new.

My thoughts were cut off somewhat abruptly when the man in front of me made a low, irritated noise, and I flinched, as much as I was able. I didn't know what was making him mad, but everyone knew that Broken slaves were only good for cheap sex and anger release... it was possible that the only reason this Master was here was to beat me senseless.

I waited fearfully for him to strike me, or penetrate me with his cock, to fuck me hard like all the others and then leave, but it seemed he wasn't done yet. The Master shuffled around for a moment, before I felt the bar forcing my legs apart loosen, then come off. My confusion reached new levels when after doing so he left my ass and came back around to my front. Since I was blindfolded I made sure to relax all my throat muscles, just in case he was one of those guys who liked to sneak up on slaves and then shove their cocks down the slave's throats without warning

Then I felt a hand on my face. Now, I had hands all over me every day – fucking, beating, hurting – but it had been ages since someone had touched me _softly._ I couldn't help it – I jerked away with a violent flinch, whimpering at the bizarre action. What was this man doing _?_

Then my blindfold came off.  
Once again, I stilled in shock. My eyes opened hesitantly, and for a long moment I couldn't believe what had happened. The slave-handlers at the market kept me blindfolded twenty-four seven, and none of the Masters who used my body had ever thought to remove it before... it had been days since I'd seen anything other than darkness.

Tears were still swimming in my eyes, and they watered even more as the harsh bright light from the room's single light bulb hit them. I made sure to keep my gaze lowered, not wanting to be struck for breaking the rules, but... the urge to look at the Master who was being so gentle was very strong, and nervously I allowed myself a careful glance.

I couldn't see anything past about knee-height due to the way the contraption I was stuck in forced my head down, but I caught a glimpse of black calf-length pants and a flash of orange that might have been his shirt before I returned to staring at the floor.

Before me, the man shifted, and I raised my head while still keeping my eyes down, convinced that now he had me the way he wanted me, he'd get what he came for. Most Masters started with a blow-job, then moved on to taking my ass, so I prepared to have my mouth used.

Soon something _did_ touch my lips, but it wasn't his cock. Was he... taking the gag off?

What in the name of hell was he up to?

I stayed perfectly still and pliant as he fumbled with the leather straps against my face for a moment, huffing a little in frustration when they didn't loosen. I wasn't surprised; the gag was made so that the slave who wore it couldn't get it off, even when they weren't restrained. The Master would need a key for the tiny lock on the back of the leather to get it off... I just hoped he wasn't too frustrated. He'd been so gentle with me so far, and I dreaded the moment when that would change, as it was sure to sooner or later.

He released the gag, and for a moment I was sure he'd given up and had decided to proceed with using me anyways – when he reached into his pocket and withdrew something. There was a soft _shck_ noise, before his hand and the object within it came back into my view.

My heart leapt into my throat, and instinctively I panicked, yanking against the devise I was trapped inside in a desperate attempt to get away. The knife in his grasp glinted hungrily, and suddenly I was terrified all over again. He had seemed so gentle before, what could I possibly have done wrong to force such a change?

I shuddered, exposed, and went limp with a desperate whimper, the sound a last plea for mercy which I didn't expect to get.

Tears welled up in my eyes again as I waited for him to cut me, and so expectant of pain was I that I jumped in shock when he spoke to me instead.

"Geeze, this thing's on tight." At those words the large, gentle hands returned to the gag on my head, and I tensed up when I felt the flat, cold side of the pocketknife pressed against my cheek. "You just hang in there, I'll have this thing off in a jiffy."

 _Have this thing off?_ I wondered. Then it hit me, and once again I was surprised. _So, the knife's for... getting the gag off? He's not going to cut me?_ I focused on that fact and tried to crush the resurfacing memories of when other Masters had brought knives when they came to see me. None of them had been for getting me out of anything; I still had scars on my back, legs and arms from where one particularly nasty man had carved patterns into my skin. I shivered again and focused on controlling the ball of fear in my stomach.

The Master in front of me made a few deft swipes with the knife, and I felt the gag loosen. I winced as the metal circle was withdrawn from my mouth, the rough edges leaving sore scabs on the corners of my mouth. Still, it felt amazing to have it off... I licked my lips hesitantly, and grimaced at the taste of old semen and dried blood from where they'd cracked from the dryness.

(Third person/Naruto's POV)

Naruto gritted his teeth angrily as he worked, but he made sure to be gentle with the abused little slave. The Uzumaki was inwardly furious – he knew that slaves were often hurt and even tortured in the Houses, but to see it first-hand was an entirely different matter.

The boy's reaction to his pocketknife was particularly heart-breaking.

Soon enough he had the worst of the slave's restraint's off, all except for the metal and leather device which seemed far too complex to get him out of.

Naruto paused in his work, dropping the gag to the floor, and gently patted the boy's head reassuringly.

"There we go. Now, um..." Naruto paused, a bit daunted by the contraption. "How does this thing come off?"

There was a long beat of silence, and then the slave started, as if it had been months since someone had asked him a question and expected an answer.

 _Well who knows, maybe it has,_ Naruto thought grimly.

"A-ano, t-there's a l-lock on the b-b-bottem, Master," he eventually stuttered. His voice was hoarse and dry, and so soft that Naruto almost missed what he said. The boy obviously wasn't accustomed to speaking. "Th-there's a k-key in the c-c-cabinet over to the l-left."

After he finished speaking the boy ducked his head nervously, and Naruto had to wonder how many times people had struck the child simply for answering a question.

Leaving the boy momentarily, Naruto strode over to said cabinet and yanked it open, and promptly slammed it shut again before his eyes could make sense of the jumble of sex toys within. He hadn't even known they _made_ dildos that big! What would an object that large do to a tiny body like the boy behind him?

 _God, I never want to see another sex toy as long as I live._

"I want the _key,_ not a pile of dildos," he growled, and immediately regretted it when the color drained from the slave's already pale face, obviously fearing that he had angered the blonde. Naruto could hear the tremors running through his body in the words he spoke.

"I – I'm sorry, the k-key's on the t-t-top sh-shelf, M-Master. P-please, forgive me, I d-didn't mean t-t-to displease M-Master-"

"You didn't," Naruto cut in before the boy's hyperventilating could escalate into a full-blown panic attack. "I'm just... unused to this kind of thing, that's all. I'm not angry with you."

The boy's rapid breathing didn't slow, as if he was so convinced that Naruto was mad at him that even Naruto himself contradicting it wasn't enough to convince him otherwise.

The Uzumaki sighed and turned away from the boy momentarily, hoping that perhaps if he just didn't pay as much attention to the slave he wouldn't be so intimidated.

The blonde opened the cabinet again and fished out the key from amidst a basket full of different gags, before turning back to the slave.

He still looked terrified, but he wasn't hyperventilating anymore – although, that might have just been because he'd reached the point of fear where he forgot to breathe, Naruto couldn't tell.

(Sasuke's POV again)

It was coming soon. I had made the new Master angry, and he was going to hurt me. I despaired silently as he rummaged through the cabinet of sex toys and torture devices. He had been so gentle with me, I didn't want to know what it felt like to have him strike me, or fuck me, or hurt me. Even though men did all those things and more every day, having _this_ man do them would be a thousand times worse after tasting a hint of kindness.

I sobbed quietly and hung my head, wincing when the chains pulled my collar taught and made the spikes on the inside dig into my flesh. Still, even that pain, substantial though it was, was far less than what I'd been in through the past week. So I watched the Master's back fearfully and did my best to enjoy the few agony-free moments he had granted me.

When he turned and came back towards me I whimpered but didn't otherwise protest. He had helped me before, taken the vibrators out and the gag off, so even when he hurt me now I wouldn't beg him to stop.

He stopped in front of me, and so expectant was I of pain that I jumped a mile in the air at the gentle hand on my face. That was _not_ what I had been expecting.

I waited for the strong fingers to grip my jaw, force my mouth open and make me suck, or maybe put another gag on me, but yet again, nothing bad happened.

A soft sigh sounded from the yellow-haired Master, and he crouched down so that we were almost at eye-level with each other.

"Hey," he said quietly, giving me a small, sad smile, "I said I'm going to get you out of here, so that's what I'm going to do. No need to be scared."

Wait, so he wanted me free of the leather and metal contraption before fucking me? This guy had to be the weirdest Master I'd ever serviced. But it was not my place to question an owner, so I just kept my head down and eyes lowered, showing my complete submission in the only way I could.

I just hoped that whatever he wanted me out of the device for wouldn't be too horrifying. There were no laws protecting Broken slaves from being killed by guests, after all. This man could torture me to death and no one would bat an eyelid.

I shuddered when he reached for me, images of blood and pain flashing in my mind, but he only located and unlocked the lock on the leather straps restraining me. I shivered and chocked back a cry of pain when the leather was pulled from my battered body, the straps peeling away from the flesh that it had been cutting into for over two days.

The straps around my chest and legs came off first, before the larger man moved to undo the constraints holding my arms behind my back. Those ones were some of the most painful – yes, the others were tighter, but very few things are worse than being fucked from both ends and not being able to support yourself. I couldn't count the number of times Masters had bent me over and fucked my ass, while another took my mouth. It was always worse when I was tied up.

The blonde Master rubbed my arms firmly as the last restraints came off, as if guessing how sore the appendages would be after being held in the uncomfortable position for so long.

'Sore' didn't even begin to cover it; I tried to bring my arms around to my front from my kneeling position and screamed as a jolt of agony shot through my left shoulder, echoed by a throbbing ache in my back.

After making the sound I cringed into the ground by habit – most Masters would be mad at me for making noise and end up hurting me. But I couldn't help it... the agony in my shoulder was extremely intense, and even though I tried desperately to hold it in another quiet shriek escaped.

"My god," I heard the man above me mutter under his breath. He reached for me again and I, sick with terror, let him loop an arm around my right shoulder and pull me up, so that I was upright on my knees instead of hunched over.

"You poor thing..." I dared to glance at my Master again, partially out of curiosity and mostly out of pure fear. My current position would have brought me to eye-level with his navel had he been upright, but as he was half bent over supporting me my gaze focused on his shoulder instead. In a distant part of my mind I registered a bright orange shirt and what looked like yellow hair before I threw my gaze back to the ground.

He knelt in front of me, and only his firm grip on my uninjured shoulder kept me from lowering myself into a deep bow. Slaves are trained from birth that their places are beneath their masters, whether it be as fuck-toys or as simple servers, we are never to stand on equal ground with our owners. Everything in me wanted to bow flat to the floor before him, to grovel like a sinner before god, but to do so would mean fighting the grip he had on me.

My arms were still hanging awkwardly behind me, in less pain now, but the agony flared up again when Master ran a hand along my neck and then down my back. I bit back a cry of pain and did everything I could not to cringe away as ripples of agony followed the movements. I didn't understand the purpose of his punishing me this way, but I belonged mind, body and soul to him for as long as he was here. It was not within me to question his methods.

The hand on my back, while painful, wasn't actually pressing or digging into the flesh yet, and I whimpered at the thought of what it would be like if Master decided to curve those long, powerful-feeling fingers.

Then all thought of my back was forgotten when the blonde man shifted again and reached for my other shoulder, the one sending spikes of agony through my entire body even without being hurt.

 _Oh, god, please no! It already hurts so much!_ I couldn't help it; I shrank away with a broken sob when his hand touched the source of pain. But instead of squeezing or trying to yank it more out of place he just prodded it lightly, before sliding his palm to the back and pressing.

It would seem I was made for mistakes that day – yet again I couldn't hold back a scream, ragged and raw. My entire body jerked ramrod straight, trying desperately to both obey its training and escape the pain.

"I'm sorry," the Master murmured, words barely penetrating my pained haze. "I needed to see if it was dislocated – I think it is. Must've happened before they tied you up..."

I blinked, spots dancing before my vision. Vaguely I knew that my owner had said something but I couldn't remember what. _Fuck, what if he gave you an order? Idiot, you're just asking for trouble!_

My vision cleared just in time to zero in on my Master's fist, which was suddenly clenched, seemingly in anger. The muscles in his arms were tense and coiled, and I could feel the weight of his rage pressing down on me like a red-hot iron. Unbeknownst to me at the time he was angry about the conditions in which I had been kept, but as all slaves would have in that situation, I immediately concluded that I had done something wrong and he was finally going to start hitting me.

My stomach was suddenly on my throat, and I pulled away from the loose hold on my shoulder to plaster myself to the ground at his feet. I pressed my forehead against the floor and sobbed, terrified. "P-p-please M-Master, p-please f-f-forgive me, I-I'm sorry! H-have m-m-mercy, please! I-I'm sorry, s-so s-s-sorry, p-please, I-I'll d-do better, I s-swear! P-please, I d-didn't m-m-mean to an-ger you Master! I b-beg you M-M-Master, please, I'll be good, p-please don't..." my mouth kept blabbing apologies as I waited in a permanent cringe. Normally I might have begged him not to hurt me at all, but I had already made enough mistakes to warrant severe punishment. It was no longer a question of whether or not he was going to hurt me, just how badly.

"Wow, kid, back up a sec," he said, sounding appalled. "I'm not – Jesus, what the hell'd they do to you?" My Master didn't seem to know how to handle the situation. "I'm not angry." I was suspicious of that, and then went straight back to being terrified when he rectified his previous statement with, "Well, that's not entirely true, I'm really pissed actually. But not at you."

I didn't move. What did it matter what he was mad at? Broken slaves only existed for Masters to hit when they were angry, regardless of the cause.

He sighed, seemingly in exasperation (or impatience, it was hard to tell).

"Come on and sit up, 'k?" the Master asked/ordered. "I want to take another look at your arms. Don't worry," he said when I whimpered in fear, "I'll be as gentle as I can."

I didn't have much faith in his words, but an order was an order, so I carefully uncoiled myself from my low kneeling position.

"Right," the orange-clad man muttered. "Your left shoulder is definitely dislocated. How long were you tied up like that?"

I scrambled to answer him once I realized that he was actually expecting a response. "Ah – a-about two d-d-days, M-Master. I'm sorry," I added quickly with a cringe when the information elicited an angry hiss from the larger male. This man's reactions were totally bizarre – so far I couldn't predict what would make him angry and what wouldn't at all, and it would seem I had just stumbled and irritated him again.

"I said it's okay," he repeated. His tone still held anger, but it was tampered down, like a tempest held back by a thin layer of ice. I couldn't guess what a tone like that meant, so I just sat very still, hoping that I wouldn't do anything else wrong.

(Third Person/Naruto POV)

Naruto was pissed. In fact, he was more than pissed – he was _angry._ He'd expected many things when he'd agreed to come with Itachi to buy a slave, and many of the possible scenarios that ran through his mind had included the abuse of said slaves, but _this –_ this was just _sick._ No one should ever be treated like this.

He wanted to throw up, or pass out, or find the manager in charge of the House and string them up with their own entrails – but obviously he couldn't do that.

So he settled for helping the boy.

Just looking at the young teen made Naruto's stomach role. Beyond being unbelievably skinny, every inch of the slave's body was covered in some sort of painful looking mark or abrasion. Blood dripped from whip marks, bites, slashes, shallow stab-wounds to collect beneath the child on the cold concrete floor. The child's skin was pasty white – he looked like he hadn't been outside in years – and the chalky-pale flesh was criss-crossed with angry red marks where the leather restraints had bit into his skin. But there was one more detail that sickened Naruto more than anything else.

The poor boy was almost entirely covered in semen. It was in his hair, on his face, all over his back and legs, and dribbling from his stretched and abused hole.

Naruto looked away, knowing that if he kept staring he'd lose his lunch all over the floor.

"Alright, do you think you can stand up?" Naruto asked. "I'm taking you home with me, then we'll get you to a doctor, okay? You'll be fine."

 _Home with him?_ The slave was confused; he hadn't been taken out of that room in months, the only way he'd be taken to a Master's home was if he'd been purchased... the tiny raven's eyes widened at the thought. Had... had this man decided to buy him?

Buy _him? Buy_ him? No, that wasn't possible. It couldn't be. No one wanted him, broken and weak as he was. The only thing he was good for was his hole; he was useless as soon as he wasn't being fucked. No one had wanted to purchase him for months, he was lucky the House kept him around to amuse the more sadistic employees and customers.

When the slave didn't move Naruto got impatient. "Well, come on! We don't have all day, I need to find Kabuto and get out of here."

The slightly harsher tone worked wonders; the slave nearly jumped out of his skin at the words, and inwardly the boy accepted the fact that for whatever reason, this master wanted to purchase him. Of course, he had already made his new Master angry by the looks of it...

The slave cringed and whimpered out, "I-I'm s-s-sorry, M-Master!" he scrambled to obey Naruto's implied order to stand, gaining his feet quite quickly, but the moment his weight landed on his legs they gave way.

Naruto, not expecting the boy to collapse like that, made an attempt to catch him and failed miserably.

The slave didn't even seem to notice the pain of the fall and instead dragged himself back to his hands and knees, crying again. "P-p-please forgive m-me Master, b-but I c-can't walk. P-please, allow m-me to crawl, I'll k-keep up, I p-promise!" He would definitely be beaten now. Other men had beaten him just for fun; but now he was actually disobeying an order, unintentionally though it may be. The punishment for such an act would surely be severe.

Naruto swallowed down the bile rising in his throat at the realization - the slave thought he would be punished for being unable to walk.

Deciding that actions would speak louder than words, Naruto leaned forward and scooped the boy into his arms, brow creasing at the terrified yelp and following sobs.

"P-please Master-!"

"I said I'm not going to hurt you," Naruto interrupted the trembling sex slave as he exited the torture room. The slave went limp in submission in the blonde Master's arms and fell silent save for his almost soundless sobs, shaking like a leaf in a gale.

"Hinata? Kabuto-san? Itachi?"

Neither of the two caretakers seemed to be around, so Naruto shifted the pale boy in preparation to start walking, only to pause when he gasped in pain.

"Eh?"

"I'm sorry!" the slave gasped out, frightened again when his new owner's attention was drawn back to him. "I-it's nothing, Master!"

"Somehow I doubt that..." Naruto said. He set the child down and gently turned him around to see his naked back.

The slave shuddered in fear when his Master put him down. Either he'd pissed his Master off enough to get punished before they'd even left, or the blonde was re-thinking his purchase. When his soon-to-be-owner walked around him to get a better look at his back, the slave knew he was in trouble.

He had whip-lashes all over his back, and if he was right then at least two of them had become infected. Infections required antibiotics, which cost more than four Broken slaves put together. No sane Master would purchase a slave who cost more to cure than to buy.

Forget not buying him, most men wouldn't even fuck him if they had to pay money. And for a used old sex toy, if no one wanted to fuck him anymore than there was no reason to keep him alive.

Naruto gasped at the sight of the boy's back. He must have overlooked it in the room; he'd been so focused on getting the boy out of his restraints that he'd largely ignored the slave's other wounds. There were more whip-lashes and bloody streams of flesh on the boy's back than unmarked skin, and two of the lower cuts were inflamed and oozing something, obviously in need of medical treatment.

"You poor kid," Naruto muttered. "How can they just leave you like this?"

The slave, realizing that the question had been rhetorical, did not respond.

"Well, I can't do much for you til we get home, so for now I'll just have to carry you," Naruto said. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

And with that, Naruto picked the boy up again, more gently this time. The slave stared up at him for a moment in shock, something akin to awe on his face, but he quickly lowered his gaze when Naruto glanced at him. The friction of Naruto's arms against his wounded back must have stung, but the boy didn't make a sound as they started moving.

"So kid, what's your name?" Naruto asked as he headed back to the section Hinata had left him in, in hopes that the lilac-eyed slave would have come back there.

The boy looked confused and scared. "I-I have no n-name, Master."

Naruto was perplexed.

"Not even your birth name? Surely your mother called you something."

At the mention of a mother the slave tensed in Naruto's arms, and the blonde winced, regretting the question. What kind of insensitive dumb-ass would ask a slave about his mom? It was surely a very delicate topic.

"M-my mother d-died r-r-right after I was b-born, Master," the slave whispered. "Sh-she never c-c-called me anything. I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong," Naruto chided gently.

 _But I couldn't answer Master's question..._ the slave thought. _He asked me my name and I didn't give him one, why isn't he angry? Maybe he is and he's just waiting til we get to his home to punish me... he's probably angry about having to carry me to. And for not telling him where the key was right away. And he's definitely going to get angry once he realizes how much money he's wasting buying me..._

The slave shrunk into himself and forcibly cut his own thoughts off lest he have a panic attack before they'd even gotten home. He'd worry about the punishments the blonde no doubt had planned later.

They walked for another minute or so, and it was only when Naruto realized he wasn't getting tired that he noticed how disturbingly light the slave was. He had noticed before that the child was skinny, but when he thought about it the kid couldn't weigh any more than seventy-five pounds.

"So how old are you?"

The slave flinched when he was spoken to, and quickly stuttered, "A-around fifteen, M-Master. I d-don't know for s-sure."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. _Wow, he's older than I thought. He seems like he's only about twelve._ "You don't know how old you are?"

"N-no, Master. M-my first ow-owner didn't keep any r-records so they l-lost most of my b-birth information."

"I see," Naruto said thoughtfully. "So fifteen is just an estimation?"

"Yes Master."

"Why do you call me that? You know I'm not actually your master yet, right?"

"W-well, yes, but..." the slave didn't articulate on that thought.

To him, everyone who came down to the Broken section was a Master, so that's just what he called everyone. Even the other slaves, the ones that weren't broken, were ranked more highly than him within the house's social structure. For as long as he could remember every single person he'd been in contact with had been either 'master' or 'mistress', and besides, this man would own him soon enough... So why would Naruto bring up the topic? Unless... a jolt of fear ran through the slave as the most probable reason occurred to him, and suddenly the slave's heart had jumped to his throat. What if this owner didn't like to be called 'Master'? The slave shrunk away as he imagined what his new lord could do to him for his latest blunder.

"P-please forgive th-this slave Master, I should h-have asked Master's preferred title! I'm s-sorry if I improperly addressed y-you-"

"Oi, oi, relax," Naruto broke in incredulously, interrupting the cringing slave-boy. "It's fine, I was just wondering why you're calling me master if I haven't bought you yet."

"O-oh," the slave said, surprised, as if the notion that he hadn't done something wrong was the last thought that would have occurred to him. "W-well, M-Master is a free man, all s-slaves are supp-pposed to sh-show proper respect... and I-I'm just a b-broken sex toy..."

"Ah," Naruto grunted. It was sad, he thought – that this child had been belittled and abused and beaten to the point where he truly believed that even other slaves were worth more than him, and that every free person was his master. His displeasure must have shown on his face, because the child whimpered again.

"I'm s-sorry," the boy cringed, obviously still thinking that he had done something to anger Naruto.

"Relax, I said," the Uzumaki sighed in slight exasperation. "You didn't do anything wrong."

The slave was silent in his Master's arms as the blonde carried him through the main section of the building. The blonde's words, instead of making the boy feel more at ease, only caused to make him wary. After all, just because he hadn't done anything wrong didn't mean that his Master wouldn't hurt him... besides, the only reason that anyone would buy a Broken slave was because they needed a twisted form of anger management. Why bother beating a useful slave into insanity when there were plenty of already broken slaves to hit?

By the time the little brunette and his blonde owner arrived back at the entry to the room, the slave was shaking in his skin.

Naruto, attributing the child's increased trembling to either cold or hunger, didn't comment.

"Ah, Naruto," a familiar voice called from their left. "I was starting to think you'd gotten lost."

Naruto turned to see Itachi striding towards him, a sly smirk playing around his lips elusively.

"Hey 'Tachi," the blonde muttered. "Have you picked yours out already?"

"Yes, Hinata is cleaning him up – what is that?" the Uchiha broke off as he got close enough to see the tiny slave curled in Naruto's arms.

Suddenly feeling defensive, Naruto's grip on the slave tightened just a little. "My purchase. I found him..." He'd been about to say 'in the broken section' but somehow he thought Itachi might object to that.

Unfortunately, the handsome Uchiha was more observant than his blonde friend gave him credit for.

"Found him where?" the long-haired man asked, a hint if oncoming disapproval in his voice, as if he already knew _exactly_ where Naruto had picked the slave up from and only wanted to make him say it.

"The Broken section..." Naruto finally admitted. There was no use trying to hide it from Itachi anyway; the more the blonde tried to keep it quiet the more his friend would press. Damn Uchiha, his nose was like a bloodhound's. Once he got whiff of something fishy he'd keep sniffing till he found out what it was.

"A Broken, Naruto? Really?" Itachi didn't seem exactly disappointed, but he clearly wasn't happy. "Far be it from me to object to getting a slave out of this place, but couldn't you at least choose one that _isn't_ considered insane? Or did you forget that bit Jiraiya mentioned, about getting us the two _best_ slaves in the building?"

"I remember," Naruto muttered. He tried to ignore how the body in his arms had gone stiff with fear when Itachi had showed up, and the tiny whimper that had sounded at the Uchiha's objections. "I like this one, though. He's... special. And he doesn't seem like his mind has snapped, he's just been hurt a lot. Right kid?"

The slave flinched at so suddenly being addressed, and then nodded frantically in response. The Master's friend was intimidating, and the slave was terrified to think that maybe the black-haired man might be able to make the blonde change his mind... but that didn't seem to be the case. The slave knew that the other Master was right – he wasn't a good pet. He was jumpy and easily frightened, and he had no skills outside of the bedroom... Still, for whatever unfathomable reason, the blonde master wanted to purchase him. The boy would be very careful not to make him regret the decision and take him back, or worse put him out of his misery.

"But hey, if you're choosing a broken..." Itachi trailed off, obviously getting an idea. "Ne, Naruto, were there any other slaves that caught your interest at all? Because Jiraiya _did_ state that he wanted us both to get functional sex slaves, the best in the building, and that one, well..." the Uchiha gestured to the emaciated form in Naruto's arms with the obvious insinuation that the slave didn't count as a functional bed-slave in his current state.

"I'm getting this one," Naruto growled, suddenly possessive.

"Relax, I am not objecting. But I was thinking, if you picked up one of the better ones as well they would most likely give you a big discount. Hell, I've known places like this to give away Broken slaves for free if the client is purchasing one of their better stock. Markets want to get rid of Broken slaves as fast as possible, after all."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "So what, you want me to go back and pick out a better-looking slave so they'll give me this one for free?"

"Something like that," Itachi said. "If you're going to get a sex-slave you should at least find something you'll enjoy taking to bed... and if you absolutely must have the little Broken one then we'll get him discounted."

Naruto was suddenly nauseous again. "Damnit, Itachi. I thought you didn't approve of slaves. How the hell do you get off on treating them like objects?"

"No, I said I don't approve of the _mistreatment_ of slaves. But these slaves are trained to pleasure, if we don't buy them and use them then someone else will. Plus... using this line of logic allows us to get three slaves out of here instead of two, while still sticking within Jiraiya's restrictions."

If they'd been anywhere else, Naruto would have smirked. Itachi always talked rough, and the blonde knew his friend had no qualms about using bed slaves, but he also knew that the Uchiha was, underneath the icy exterior, a fair and reasonably kind man. He was certainly a much kinder Master than what most of the slaves at this market would be used to.

Somehow that last bit of logic about getting three slaves out of the Market instead of two made Naruto feel a little better about the situation, and he found himself agreeing. "Alright, I'll go back and pick out another, but I'll probably end up giving him away to someone. I don't need two, and this one is the one I really want."

Itachi smirked. "Fair enough."

Naruto nodded and turned to go back down the hallway, only to have Itachi call after him.

"Do you want to leave that one with me? No use carrying him around, after all."

"Uh, sure I guess. Here, why don't you -" the Uzumaki was stopped when a quiet but desperate whimper sounded from the little black-ette.

The slave had been frightened of his new owner's friend since he'd shown up, but it was the long-haired man's objections to owning a Broken slave that really terrified him. The slave had lived in households before where one or more of the Masters didn't like him; he knew perfectly well that if he felt like it, the blonde's friend could make his life a living hell.

Of course, living at the Market as amusement for the employees was already a living hell... and surely having two Masters beating and fucking him would be better than the innumerable men that made their way to the Broken section on a daily basis.

Then again, if this new man – Itachi?– really didn't want his Master to buy him then staying alone with him was a very bad idea. The little raven had experienced what happened when he was left alone with masters who bore him ill will. He still had scars from the last time.

Hence why the skinny boy whimpered pathetically and cringed into Naruto's chest when the orange-clad man went to hand him over to Itachi. The slave knew that he would probably be beaten for daring to display a desire contrary to his Master's, but he would rather be bought and punished by the blonde then hurt and left at the House by the black-ette.

"I don't think he wants to come to me," Itachi commented.

"Yeah, looks like it," Naruto said, confused. "Ah well, I'll just bring him with. He's not all that heavy anyway."

The slave blinked in shock. Was that it? No, his Master must be angry with him for a display like that. Yet another infraction to add to the list of punishments to expect once they got to the blonde's house...

Still, the young teen was grateful that at least his Master hadn't changed his mind and left him there. He stayed quiet and still as the blonde walked back down the row of cages.

Naruto sighed and shifted the black-ette in his arms. Honestly, he just wanted to go home... all this slave business was giving him a headache.

A quick walk later and Naruto found himself standing in front of the first slave that had caught his eye, the one with the long chocolate-coloured hair and white eyes.

"I guess you're coming home with me," Naruto told him, sadly observing the apprehension and mild fear that crossed his face at the words.

"U-Uzumaki-sama?" Hinata's voice proceeded her from around a bend in the cages. "Itachi-sama told me you've made your choice, would you like me to -" the pretty girl rounded the corner and broke off with a small gasp when she saw which cage Naruto had stopped in front of. Her white-lilac eyes were wide, and she seemed like she was trying to hold back a more severe reaction.

For a moment Naruto was baffled. Then he remembered the uncanny resemblance between her and the brunette he'd decided to purchase, and realized -

"He's family to you, isn't he?"

Hinata's panicked gaze met his for a split second, before flickering down again. "I-I, um..." she hesitated, fully aware that she could get in a lot of trouble for admitting it.

"I won't tell," Naruto promised, being unusually perceptive.

Hinata hesitated for another second, but she'd seen the honest sincerity in this man's eyes... and he'd already proven to her that he was kinder than most Masters.

Unfortunately, the young man in the cage didn't seem to share her opinion. Hinata caught him sending her warning glares, obviously doing his best to tell her to shut up non-verbally, and if he hadn't been gagged she was sure he'd've been telling her to stay quiet. Still, Uzumaki-sama had been nice so far... "Yes," she whispered in response to the blonde's question. "H-he's my cousin."

Naruto nodded, a serious edge appearing in his sapphire-blue eyes. What kind of twisted world was this, that families could be ripped apart just because the members were slaves?

The blonde observed the girl for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. Really, what could he say? What could he do that would make the situation any better?

Then he re-thought the last question, and almost laughed out loud. Of _course_ he could make the situation better.

"I could get him out of here," he stated softly, but the way he said it made the words sound more like a question, like he was open to objections. "But if you want to stay together I'll find someone else, I don't mind. If I could I'd buy you both, but..."

Hinata understood. Slaves were expensive, especially exotics like herself and Neji. There was no way an average young man with an average job or even benefits from some rich relative could afford them both.

"I – a-ano..."

"Hinata!" a rough voice interrupted whatever the girl had been about to say. Naruto and Hinata turned to see Kabuto striding towards them, a small frown marring his features. "There are more guests waiting upstairs," the silver-haired man told Hinata gruffly. "Get up there and take care of them, I'll handle this."

"H-hai, Kabuto-sama," Hinata replied. The young woman walked around Kabuto and passed Naruto, and as she went she caught his eye and gave him a small but firm nod.

 _Get him out of here._

Naruto gave her an equally small but reassuring smile in return.

 _I'll take care of him._

Then Hinata was gone, around a bend in the cages, leaving a faint scent of lavender in the air.

Naruto never saw the pretty, pale-eyed girl again.

"So, you've made your choice?" Kabuto said, gesturing to Hinata's cousin.

"I, uh- yes," Naruto said. "And I was hoping to take this one home with me as well." He gestured to the boy in his arms.

"Really?" Kabuto said, sounding surprised. "Well, alright, but you do know that it'll cost more to fix than to purchase, don't you?"

"I'm aware," Naruto bit out, squeezing in a reassuring way when the little teen shrunk down in his arms.

"Alright," the silver-haired man said. "I'll take this one down to the prep room and have one of the attendants get him ready. You can leave the Broken with me as well."

"If you don't mind, I'd rather keep this one with me," Naruto said. He had sensed the renewed flash of terror that had surged through the boy's body at the mention of the prep room, and guessed that whatever happened inside was not a pleasant experience.

"Normally I would, but I'm afraid regulation states that all slaves must be collared and prepared before going to their new Masters. If you like I could ask to have them delivered later today though, instead of tomorrow like usual."

Naruto frowned a little, but acquiesced. "Fine. But I don't want either of them hurt."

Kabuto nodded with a patronizing smile. "Of course not."

The silver-haired man then walked over to the wall nearby and flipped open a control panel that Naruto hadn't noticed before. He pressed a small red button and said,

"This is floor 3B, there's a couple slaves that need prepping."

A brief pause, then male voice responded, "I'll send someone up."

"I need them ready for later today, so make it quick," Kabuto ordered, before cutting the connection. He then turned back to Naruto. "Well then, if you'll just leave the little one with me and give the man at the front desk the payment and address, they'll be delivered today in about five hours."

"Right," Naruto said, but didn't move to let go of the slave in his arms. The boy was clinging to him like a lifeline, and he kept sending Kabuto tiny, terrified glances when he thought the blonde wasn't looking.

With a small, resigned sigh, Naruto put his mouth close to the slave's ear and whispered, "It's okay. It won't be long, only five hours or so. It's alright."

The words didn't seem to help; the slave didn't relax his vice-grip on the edge of Naruto's jacket, nor did his panicked breathing slow.

Naruto was conflicted. He hated the idea of letting the boy out of his sight, and the boy himself didn't seem to fond of the idea either... but then Kabuto was reaching out to take the teen from him, and with a brief moments hesitation, Naruto found himself letting go.

The boy let out a silent whimper when his new Master released him, handing him over to Kabuto. The boy had been to the prep room twice before, and he was terrified of going back. But regulation was regulation, and the Market wouldn't bend any of its rules, even for a customer.

Besides, even with all the horrible things they could do to him, they wouldn't kill him, not now that a buyer had expressed interest.

"So, um, I guess I'll just... head back," Naruto said awkwardly. Everything in him rebelled against the thought of leaving the two slaves in Kabuto's care, even for a few hours.

"They'll be delivered to your place by evening," Kabuto said with a fake smile. "Please leave your information and name with the front desk."

"H-hai..." Naruto watched Kabuto sling the small slave over his shoulder easily, as if he was accustomed to carrying around damaged slaves on a regular basis.

The blonde hesitated, a small pit forming deep in his stomach, but he turned away and began the lengthy walk back to the front desk.

"What's got you in a knot?" Itachi questioned when the Uzumaki arrived back at the front desk. Naruto didn't respond for as long moment, worried sapphire eyes drifting back down the rows to where he'd left the little raven-haired slave.

"Ah, nothing really, just..." he sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about this 'prep room'."

"Mm." Itachi didn't offer anything further, so Naruto assumed that either he didn't know what happened in the Prep rooms either, or he knew exactly what happened and had decided not to tell his blonde counterpart.

Naruto didn't push it. He was too busy with the knot of worry in his stomach, and the fresh memory of his new slave's terrified, tear-filled black eyes staring back at him.

Four hours later, Naruto's pacing was getting on Itachi's nerves. "Naruto, for the last time, please stop trying to wear a hole in my carpet."

The Uzumaki didn't even glance up from the ground. "Uh-huh."

Irritation flickered over Itachi's features. " _Naruto."_ the quieter tone caught the blonde male's attention, as he was fully aware that the quiet tone proceeded painful violence if he didn't listen.

"What?"

The Uchiha sat back in the couch. "Sit down. The slaves will be fine. I will not lie to you, prep rooms are often horrible places, but these slaves will be much safer once they're with us. Worrying yourself like this will not help them."

"I know, it's just..." the blonde let out a long sigh. "The little one was so scared. He was terrified of me, Itachi! I've never hurt anyone on my life, and suddenly I've got this defenceless slave expecting me to hit him and rape him. It's a lot to take in."

The Uchiha made no response to that.

Both occupants of the room started when the doorbell rang, and the increase in tension was palpable.

"They're early," Itachi stated,but Naruto wasn't even there to hear it. The blonde had already bolted out of the room and was making his way to the door.

Itachi sighed and followed more slowly.

"Good evening," the attendant said in a tone of practised professionalism when Naurto yanked the door open. "Is this the residence of Uchiha Itachi-san and Uzumaki Naruto-san?"

"Yep, that's me," Naruto said, a tad too rushed to be considered polite.

"Great," the man said with a greasy smile that was probably supposed to be friendly. "My name's Sanada. I have three packages for you."

 _Packages...?_ Naruto was just about to question the wording when Itachi came up behind him and broke in.

"Thank you, Sanada-san," the Uchiha said with a chilly smile. "You can just bring them inside."

"Will do," the man responded. "They're just in the truck, my partner and I will bring them in for you."

Itachi nodded and let the front door stay half-open as Sanada retreated down the driveway to a battered-looking white van.

"Packages?" Naruto repeated, looking questioningly at Itachi. "They call slaves _packages?"_

"Oh trust me," Itachi responded, "the delivery service more than makes that term live up to it's name."

The Uzumaki was about to question his brunette partner further when movement from the driveway caught his eye. He walked to the door and looked out to see Sanada and another man, presumably his partner, lifting the second of three waist-high cages out of the back of the van. They'd been covered with a canvasse-like material, presumably to keep the slaves inside from seeing anything.

 _Oh. Packages._

"Seriously?" Naruto hissed. "They... they put them in cages like they're fucking animals – like they're _merchandise?"_

"To the slave traders, they are," Itachi replied flatly. "These slaves are just lucky the trip isn't longer. They could have been shipped across state or even flown across an ocean like that."

There was suddenly a small, sick feeling in the pit of Naruto's stomach, and all of a sudden the Uzumaki felt grossly unprepared for what he'd gotten himself into.

"Why don't you go inside?" Itachi suggested. The Uchiha could see the wheels turning in his friend's head, see him starting to freak out. "Go clear your head, I'll have them bring your slaves up to your room."

Naruto nodded mutely and slipped back inside. There was a nauseous knot in the pit of his stomach, and the teen did his best to squash it down as he beat a hasty retreat to his bedroom.

Distantly he heard the two men arrive back at the house and Itachi's quiet, low voice giving instructions. A few clangs and minutes of shuffling later and the front door closed again, giving way to an ominous silence.

Naruto groaned and thumped his head against the pillow it was resting on, before rolling off his bed and squaring his shoulders, and then heading back downstairs.

It was exactly how awful as he'd expected it to be; The men had apparently moved Itachi's slave's cage to his bedroom, because it wasn't in the main room. The Uchiha gave Naruto an encouraging nod, before brushing past him, presumably to take care of his own slave.

"Just remember," he murmured quietly as he went by, "Keep your head. These slaves are used to anger meaning pain. I know it's hard for you to keep your temper but do try, okay?"

Naruto grunted in response, eyes fixated on the covered cages with a sort of sick fascination.

They were identicle from the outside, so Naruto wasted no time in crouching in between and pulling the coverings off. Immedialtely he could see the pale-eyed one had been treated better; there were no fresh bruises, and though his skin looked sore in places, probably from being roughly scrubbed down, he didn't seem to be in any pain. The little broken, on the other hand, was sporting a new black-eye and a scrape across one cheekbone, and that was just the damage Naruto could see.

"Damn it," he swore softly. It spoke volumes to the slave's mental states how they reacted; the Broken flinched and immediately started to tremble, while the brunnete went tense but gave no other outward response. Naruto cursed silently again and set about unlocking both cages, chatting away as he did so. "Right. Sorry about all of this. If it were up to me there'd be no cages in the first place…"

Soon enough he had both doors unlocked, and he gestures for the slaves to crawl out. Naruto wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but somehow it wasn't for both of them to slink out of their cages like kicked dogs and come kneel at his feet, eyes cast dwnwards.

"Jesus. Um." Naruto dithered for a split second before deciding to just sit down right there on the carpet. "Okay. Well, um, hello again. In case you haven't gathered yet, my name is Naruto. What's yours?" He directed the question m


End file.
